Weather catastrophes in late May could cost insurers up to $7 billion

The final days of the month of May could be one of the insurance industry's costliest on record.

According to the catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide, the thunderstorms and tornado activity that occurred between May 20 and May 27 will cost between $4 billion and $7 billion when combining residential, commercial and industrial property losses.

Tim Doggett, principal scientist at AIR Worldwide, said the relative quiet of early May was no indication of what was to follow.

"Over the next seven days, more than 150 confirmed tornadoes raged across the heart of the country," said Doggett. "Thousands of buildings were damaged, hundreds more were completely destroyed, and more than a thousand people were injured."

The report also detailed the impact certain states received such as Minnesota, Texas and Kansas. Earlier this month, the Kansas Insurance Department said April set a new record for home insurance claims, as 66,000 were filed.